


Fighting Sleep

by arysthaeniru



Series: the city is an abyss [2]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M, Slums, crime verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2403686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arysthaeniru/pseuds/arysthaeniru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For all of his bold words, he really couldn’t do paperwork at Yanagi’s level, not without going a bit mad or screwing up somewhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fighting Sleep

The smell as you entered the lower part of the city was almost unbearable. It was the smell of uncleanness and despair and hatred. It was the smell of sweat and blood and tears and bodily fluids all mixed together, since nobody cared enough to do anything but mindlessly survive here. Kirihara hated it, because it reminded him once again how much of an outsider he was. 

No one had expected the rich son of one of the biggest business leaders in the world to join the world of crime. It wasn’t done, especially not the world of crime that the lower classes involved themselves in. It wasn’t like his parents or his family knew, but everyone else in the world of crime did. At least here in the lower city, all of the criminals looked the same to the peasants. Wearing black and red was a sign that you were part of the crime ring and people both wanted to approach you but were too afraid of being dismissed. 

Not like back in headquarters, where it was obvious that he didn’t belong. Among the street kids who’d pulled themselves up with nothing but hard work and deception, Kirihara was nothing but a fraud and a spoilt brat. Never mind that he’d worked just as hard as any of them to reach his position, he’d always be resented for his birth and upbringing. It was unfair, but as Yukimura-shachou had reminded him quietly after one of his outbursts, life wasn’t fair for anybody. 

A young child ran across his path and Kirihara almost tripped over her. Her eyes widened and she stammered apologies, folding her dirty hands together and bowing endlessly. There were those in the crime business who got angry if anyone got near them without asking permission first. Kirihara was only annoyed if someone did it deliberately, and that much was obvious here. Besides, taking revenge against a little girl was just stupid. He patted the girl on her head, with a light smile, before heading towards the door he’d been looking for. 

He pushed upon the thick door and blinked a little in annoyance at how dark this place always was. When he shut the door behind him, Kirihara was plunged into almost complete darkness, with only a small light at the end of the corridor to guide him. Kirihara pulled out his phone from his pocket to illuminate the corridor, and squeezed his way past the stacks of books, careful not to knock any over. The last time that had happened, he’d been scrubbing floors for an eternity. 

It was a little better inside the main library, but Kirihara still felt like it was way too dark inside Yanagi’s house. How Yanagi could read the tiny print of the books and the stocks and the pages upon pages of spreadsheets in such bad lighting, Kirihara didn’t know. He strode his way to the desk near the back of the book-filled room. Yanagi didn’t even look up as he held out his hand for the papers.

Kirihara rummaged on the inside pocket of his long coat and frowned upon fishing the folded sheets out of the mess of cold-sweets and spare ammo. “Senpai, how the fuck do you see anything when it’s this dark?”

"Light sensitivity, Akaya. Broad daylight isn’t good for me." said Yanagi, as he took the papers, smoothed them out and added them to his stack of messy papers. 

"It’s not like there’s any actual sunlight with all of the smog covering the sky." muttered Akaya and Yanagi snorted slightly.

"It’s still too bright for me, Akaya." he explained, as he pulled down his glasses. "That’s why I don’t set up camp with Seiichi and Genichirou near the upper city."

"Also it’s easier for you to get gossip here." said Kirihara, as he perched on the edge of Yanagi’s desk, moving a stack of books away to make room. Yanagi pursed his lips but didn’t comment.

"That too." he agreed, with a sardonic tone to his voice, as he placed a hand to his eyes, momentarily. "People are too afraid of criminals who are not amongst them. That is why Niou and myself are usually first to hear about what happens here. Trouble has to be monitored by someone."

Kirihara frowned as he noticed Yanagi’s slightly strained smile and the too dark circles under his eyes as he spoke. “Hey senpai, have you slept at all this past week?” he demanded. His eyes scanned the table and spotted the empty coffee cup with such a thick black line around the inner rim of the cup that it as clear how many times it had been refilled. Was that much coffee even healthy to drink?

"A little." said Yanagi, as he flicked the page of his book and made a few notes on a separate, sheet of paper. 

"Not enough." countered Kirihara, as he frowned. "You should sleep, senpai. I mean, the world can keep turning for seven hours without you."

Yanagi’s hands paused on the page, the ink from his pen bleeding through the page a little, as he left the pen against the thin, bad-quality paper for too long. “I have work to do, Akaya.” he said, finally, as he started writing again. 

Kirihara reached forward and plucked the pen out of Yanagi’s hands, ignoring the acid glare he got from his senpai for doing so. “You really should go and sleep. If you’re so worried about stuff, I’ll do the paperwork for you!”

Yanagi’s eyebrows rose and Kirihara rolled his eyes. Yes, okay he could be a little careless, but he wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t know how to do paperwork. “You know, if you keep doing paperwork when you’re tired, even I’ll be better than you at record-keeping, and shachou will give me your job.” he said, with a cocky grin. 

That startled a laugh out of Yanagi and Kirihara grinned. “Seiichi would never give you a desk job unless he wanted that building destroyed.” said Yanagi, with an amused look.

"Why, am I not nerdy enough for it?" asked Kirihara, with a grin, as he plucked off Yanagi’s glasses and tried them on, ignoring the slight headache he got from the power. Leaning forward, he struck some model poses, mockingly. "Don’t I look bookish enough?"

Yanagi’s face had frozen into a peculiar expression while watching Kirihara, and he leant forward almost unconsciously, before pulling himself back, and looking away, his eyes snapping shut instantly. “Maybe you’re right.” he said, as he got up from his desk, pulling back his glasses from Kirihara and placing them back on his face. “Perhaps I should get some rest.”

There was a startling feeling of loss as Yanagi got up and walked away from the main library. Kirihara’s lips parted for a moment as he sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, tiredly. For all of his bold words, he really couldn’t do paperwork at Yanagi’s level, not without going a bit mad or screwing up somewhere. 

There was a part of him that was tempted to go after Yanagi and pull him back and do what they both wanted to do. But he remembered the huge amount of stuff he had to go and check on today, and how he was already procrastinating while being here. Sanada would wring his neck and stick him on patrolling duty if he didn’t finish all of his responsibilities today.

He tore off a corner from one of sheets of paper in Yanagi’s bin, scribbled a quick note reminded Yanagi to eat as well, drew on a small smiley face in the corner, before chucking it at the table and making his way outside, stubbing his toes on the books as he went.


End file.
